Ohrberg Entomology

I just wanted to share some cool pictures of a praying mantis (the correct name is actually mantid) Juliana found. It started off with: "Mom! Come look at this cool bug I found!" (Juliana's definition of "cool bug": any bug including moths and flies) Needless to say, I was not in a hurry to follow her..."it is eating another bug!" I start walking a little faster (this REALLY does sound cool). She leads me to the front yard where I have some zinnias growing/dying (I haven't been deadheading--Laurin, don't tell Mark) and she points to this light brown praying mantid eating a moth (body only, not the wings). How she found this thing I have no idea. Of course she had to catch it and it was her pet for a few hours. We let it go at the same zinnia so it wouldn't be confused (if only the aliens would do that with humans! Yes, I'm joking). They have got to be one of the creepiest insects...anywho, enjoy!

It is almost as though it is saying: "Uh, do you mind? I'm trying to eat here!"

To Harmony's House We Go

We were able to visit Harmony once more before Thanksgiving. The kids love to visit her. Aside from getting to watch movies on the way there, she has woods behind her house, an abundance of bugs (in her yard!), visits from deer and rabbits and delicious Korean food! This was the first trip in the newly acquired van. It was quite a luxury compared to the Taurus. And to think, we would go camping with the Taurus!

Here is Juliana trying to catch a butterfly with a peanut butter jar because she was afraid to touch it. I did not think she would get it, but I thought it would make a cute picture. As I am standing there in the house with the camera (taking the picture through the screen), she manages to ...










...scoop it up!

Juliana with her catch . She was so proud of herself. And I was proud of myself --I can't believe I got pictures of the whole thing!

"Mommy, where do chestnuts come from?"

This is a chestnut on the tree my mom grew. From a chestnut. Yes, an actual chestnut. Yes, she actually grew an entire tree. She can grow anything. The outer shell is a virtual ball of needles. They eventually turn brown and fall to the ground and will split slightly. Inside you find the stuff you roast on an open fire.

Some bugs Juliana caught

The Tooth Fairy Visits Juliana

On Thursday (09/18), at the end of the school day, Juliana was walking to the car rider line to go home and her tooth came out. I wish it could have been just 5 minutes later so I could have witnessed it. I also missed Andrew's first tooth falling out (I was at the beach!). Oh well, I guess it will just give me something to add to those email surveys. I must admit, girls losing teeth just isn't the same as boys losing teeth. I don't know if it is because my oldest is a boy and boys with goofy grins with gaps seem almost natural, but there is something about little girls with gaps in their teeth that just doesn't look right. Maybe I'll get used to it before one of her top front teeth come out. BTW, she is going to be a witch for Halloween. The gap will be quite the costume enhancer!

8 is Great

For Andrew's birthday he invited two of his friends over for a sleepover and a trip to the skating rink. We brought his friends, John and Zion, home right after school on Friday and they ate pizza and played until Grammy and Papa and Uncle Tim and family joined us for cake and ice cream (and presents). John was not able to stay the night, but the boys managed to squeeze in a movie before John went home. On Saturday after lunch, John rejoined the gang and we took them skating. They had a great time skating, playing the games and redeeming tickets!

Hey Comcast, Look What You Can Get for $130.47

I thought I'd enlighten Comcast of what they have been withholding from my family for the last 7 months...

1. A week's worth of groceries


2. Before Hurricane Ike, 38 gallons of gas


3. 6.5 violin lessons


4. Soccer registration for 2 kids with $10.47 leftover


5. Almost 3 months of phone service


6. 15 piano lessons


7. 2 months of YMCA family memberships


8. Almost 2 months of utilities


9. 52 school lunches


10. And of course, 1 month of internet and cable service

Comcast Stole My Money

I never intended to use my blog for this purpose, but I am so frustrated and after doing some research, I read that Comcast actually has reps that check blogs for this kind of stuff. Let's see if it is true. Hope you are reading, Frank Eliason.

It all started in February (yes, as in 7 months ago) when I noticed Comcast charged me twice. I am set up for autopay and saw the charges via my Visa account online. Now, the weird thing is I was charged on 2 different days. I immediately became suspicious. First, I called Comcast and was told that they only had 1 payment showing. I offered to give her the reference numbers on my Visa bill and she told me that those don't mean anything to her. She really did not help simply because she only saw one payment. Next call, Chase. They saw the double charge, agreed with me that Comcast had made a mistake and advised me to file an e-dispute. I did so and my account was credited within 2 days. I was lovin' Chase! And I thought this was going to be a pain trying to get it resolved. Oh, if I had only known...


I check my bill for March--guess what? They charged me twice again! This time it was 1 charge, my normal amount doubled. What happened was this: when Chase filed a chargeback, it took out the only payment Comcast was showing. Therefore, (according to Comcast) I did not make a payment in February, so they charged me again for February and March. Now, keep in mind someone still has 130.00 of my money that I paid to Chase, that Comcast claims they never received. I have some experience in bookkeeping for a large home improvement retailer and I am somewhat familiar with this sort of thing. It's not called bookkeeping for nothing. I am failing to understand how somewhere on some report there is not a discrepancy.

Here is a timeline of what I notated that has happened since:

04/03/08: Went to the Germantown office. Presented Margaret Williams a letter from Chase verifying the charges and a copy of my statement (as per request from a previous call). Still optimistic this will settle things. I am so confident this will do it, I give her my only copies. I know, I know...it was foolish to think the customer service of a major company would be responsible. Margaret tells me she will send it to the research department and it may take a little while. Margaret calls about a week later and leaves a message that they are still working on it. I patiently wait...

06/16/08: Call Comcast. Speak to Erika. Spend at least 10 minutes explaining the whole story. She tells me she is going to email Margaret to give give me an update. Never heard from her.

08/20/08: Call Comcast. Speak to Claudia. Spend at least 12 minutes explaining (had to add the 06/06/08 call to the story). Claudia is going to email Erika to have her give me an update. Erika was out of the office at that time but she was working until 10:00 pm and would get back with me. Never heard from her either.

I must mention that during other calls to Comcast about service issues, I bring this up and am told they are "working on it" or "the research department is looking into it". And those of you who made it this far into my complaint may be wondering why I waited 2 months in between phone calls...well, for me it is draining to think someone has taken 130.00 of my family's hard earned money. I really have to prepare myself when I call. And honestly, I was giving them the benefit of the doubt. I did not think that money would never be returned to me. Sadly, after reading other complaints I realize companies can do this to people and they will and they do. I still expect to get my money mostly because I have faith that the right and true things always prevail.

I'm not going to bash Comcast (yet) because other than this problem I have not had any issues with them. Every time I call the customer service number the reps are very pleasant and helpful. There were a couple of times I planned on just chewing someone out so something would get done, but it is hard to be mean to a nice person.

Frank, if you are reading this I hope you can do what no other Comcast employee has yet to do: credit my account. And for everyone else, check your bill! Is it really possible I am the ONLY person this happened too?

To my regular readers, thanks for sticking with me. We'll see what happens.

I will leave you with a 7 month old riddle:

If I paid Chase and Chase paid Comcast but Comcast doesn't have my money, who does?

(I don't know the answer but I will post it if/when I find out)

Daddy Brings Back the Good Stuff

Normally when Paul goes out of town, he likes to get the kids a little something from where he was visiting. Not this time. He got them a BIG something. Once again we are conforming and now possess a playset. It sits on the only level area of our yard. The kids love it. I love it. It keeps them busy, oops, I mean active for hours on end. Paul added monkey bars on the other side which has sparked a new contest: Who Can Do the Monkey Bars the Most. Oh those monkey bars...it goes with out saying that my children have tied a rope (with a 5 gallon bucket attached, hanging) to one rung and stand in the bucket and swing. As though the two swings weren't enough. Andrew's first comment: "We should have gotten this like, 3 years ago!" Those kids are never satisfied!

The kids with their new playset